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Rodgers Love Affair With the Packers Continues

The perfect fairy-tale seems to have been completed as it was announced on Wednesday that quarterback Aaron Rodgers has signed a four-year contract extension with the Green Bay Packers, meaning the esteemed #12 could close out his career with the only franchise he’s ever known.

Aaron Rodgers has been the Green Bay Packers first choice quarterback for nearly a decade.

Good quarterbacks lead their teams to victories and create winning plays. But great quarterbacks become the heart and soul of those teams. They become synonymous with their franchise in the way John Elway did with the Denver Broncos, or Ben Roethlisberger has with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And now, with the news that broke on Wednesday, it is clear that Aaron Rodgers will continue to be a pillar of the Green Bay Packers for the foreseeable future. It was announced that the fan-favourite had signed a four-year contract extension with the Packers worth a staggering $134million – the largest deal in NFL history. The deal will see 34-year-old Rodgers play through to 2023.

Rodgers’ NFL career started in 2005 as he was drafted by the Packers with the 24th pick in the first round of that year’s draft. Despite being picked later in the draft than many had predicted, Rodgers was still one of the biggest talking points as it was clear that the Packers had chosen their quarterback for the future as the curtain was closing on Brett Favre’s prestigious career.

Favre’s retirement came in 2008, ushering in the Rodgers era. Having spent the previous two seasons as Favre’s back-up and protégé, it was time for Rodgers to prove himself in the #12 jersey. He excelled himself in doing so. In his first season as a starter, he charted 28 touchdown passes and threw for 4,038 yards, with only 13 interceptions – a record he has not yet surpassed.

His statistics have by no means faltered over the years, as NFL.com reported: “On his career, Rodgers holds a 94-48 overall record as a starter, and has passed 38,502 yards, 313 touchdowns with 78 interceptions for a 103.8 passer rating. His passer rating and TD-INT ratio ranks as the highest in NFL history (minimum 2,000 attempts).”

He has long been a fan-favourite at Lambeau Field – the Packers home turf – especially since he helped bring home the Super Bowl in 2010, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in a game that saw him named MVP. Along with this prestigious title, Rodgers has also twice been awarded the NFL MVP award and nominated to the Pro Bowl on six occasions.

Along with these personal career stats, Rodgers is part of a group of six esteemed quarterbacks who have passed for over 1,000 yards in a single postseason – the others are: Kurt Warner, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning, Joe Flacco and Dan Marino. Not bad company to be in.

In light of his contract extension announcement, the NFL highlighted his impressive passing statistic on their official Twitter page.

However, when it comes to contracts he is now in a league of his own. Rodgers remained humble in the wake of the announcement though, expressing that his main concentration is on his team. He told the media: “It does feel good knowing my future is going to be in Green Bay.”

He then elaborated: “This shows, in this contract, there’s a lot of mutual love and respect, and excitement about keeping this partnership together.”

So, Green Bay will continue to be blessed with the magic of Rodgers – his touchdown plays, his Hail Mary passes, and his championship belt celebrations – and they will be hoping that the strength of his leadership will motivate the Packers this season. A Super Bowl win in the franchise’s 100th year does sound rather nice, doesn’t it?